WOT is Wine on Tap?!

Ever hear of wine on tap (WOT)? It's a relatively new alternative to wine by the glass programs in restaurants and bars. The New York Times covered this trend in 2009 when it started taking off. WOT makes a lot of sense, benefiting both the restaurant and the producer:

• Wine on tap stays fresh because it resides in an air-tight container. No more half-drunk, oxidized bottles. 
• Bottles and corks are eliminated, which saves on costs for the producer and waste for the restaurant. 
• The risk of cork taint from natural corks is eliminated. 
• It is considered eco-friendly.

Logistically, the winery controls the storage of the wine and refilling the kegs, making sure to keg a finished, filtered wine. The retailer must have a special WOT system for storage and serving, separate from beer taps. This system by nature is airtight; WOT systems must be equipped with nitrogen to replace the air space left by the wine served.

When I worked at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard they had just started a keg program with some local restaurants, and I cleaned, filled, delivered and sampled my fair share. Wiemer's wine tasted the same or better coming out of the keg compared to the bottle; it really did taste "fresh."

I'm intrigued by the WOT concept and I try a keg wine whenever I see one.  Here in San Francisco, you can find WOT at The Slanted Door's sister restaurant, OTD in Pacific Heights, or at Barrique in Jackson Square, to name just a couple.

One issue with keg wine is the perception of quality. Is it cheaper wine if it doesn't come in a bottle with a cork? Is it not worthy of aging, and does this make it seem lower-quality? Is this what winemakers want when they keg a wine or is this what they are getting?

At the same time, wouldn't it be a good idea for wineries to use kegs for their tasting samples, instead of opening bottles all the time? Is anyone doing this? The tap dance continues...

Roll out the barrel

Recently I visited a wine bar in San Francisco called Barrique, aptly named because they serve wine out of barrels. They vinify some of their own wine, either from purchased grapes or juice, or they acquire bulk wine and barrel age it and blend it themselves. They only make 60 gallons of any wine - enough to fill one barrel. They then serve it from these barrels behind the bar. Interesting business model. The barrique-to-glass system is patent-pending, so they couldn't tell us anything about the delivery system, but I imagine there must be some sort of airtight bag inside that keeps oxygen out as the wine level goes down.

The wine list features their own wines plus a couple of well known bubblies to get your palate ready for these big California wines. I recommend the Sommelier's flight of 3 wines to get a good sampling. I started with the J Russian River Valley Brut Rose sparkling wine and then tried some of the Barrique Selections. I thought the Cabs were the best of the bunch, but the offerings change frequently so there's always a reason to go back. The truffle popcorn was a fantastic accompaniment to the wines :)